Maryland Route 213 (MD 213) is a state highway located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The route runs from MD 662 in Wye Mills, Queen Anne's County, north to the Pennsylvania border near Fair Hill in Cecil County, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 841 (PA 841). The route, which is a two-lane undivided highway most of its length, passes through mainly rural areas as well as the towns of Centreville, Chestertown, Galena, Cecilton, Chesapeake City, and Elkton. MD 213 intersects many routes including U.S. Route 50 (US 50) near Wye Mills, US 301 near Centreville, and US 40 in Elkton. It crosses over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City on the Chesapeake City Bridge. MD 213 is designated by the state as the Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway between the southern terminus and Chesapeake City with the portion north of MD 18 in Centreville a National Scenic Byway. In addition, the route is also considered part of the Atlantic to Appalachians Scenic Byway between Chesapeake City and MD 273 in Fair Hill.
The route was initially designated as U.S. Route 213 (US 213) in 1926 when the U.S. Highway System was established, running from Ocean City west and north to US 40 in Elkton. The highway was rerouted to cross the Nanticoke River in Vienna by 1933, with the former route between Mardela Springs and Eldorado becoming a part of MD 313 and the alignment between Eldorado and Rhodesdale becoming part of MD 14. US 213 was rerouted to use the Emerson C. Harrington Bridge over the Choptank River in Cambridge in 1939; the former alignment between Vienna and Easton became MD 331. Meanwhile, the road between Elkton and the Pennsylvania border became Maryland Route 280 (MD 280). US 213 was moved to a bypass of Easton and straight alignment between Easton and Wye Mills in 1948. A year later, the southern terminus was cut back to US 50 in Wye Mills, with an extended US 50 replacing US 213 between Wye Mills and Ocean City. In 1971, US 213 and MD 280 were decommissioned and replaced with MD 213.
Route description
MD 213 is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial between US 40 and MD 279 within the town of Elkton.
Queen Anne's County
thumb|left|View north at the south end of MD 213 at MD 662 in Wye Mills
MD 213 begins at an intersection with MD 662 (Wye Mills Road) in Wye Mills, Queen Anne's County, heading to the north on College Drive, a two-lane undivided road. The road heads into farmland, passing Chesapeake College on the west side of the road before intersecting US 50 (Ocean Gateway). Past this intersection, MD 213 continues north on Centreville Road, passing more farms as well as some residences. The route continues into a mix of woods and farmland before intersecting the northern terminus of MD 309 (Starr Road). A short distance later, the route reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with US 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway). Past MD 18, the route continues into residential areas, eventually splitting into a one-way pair carrying one lane in each direction with northbound MD 213 following Commerce Street and southbound MD 213 following Liberty Street. The road heads into farmland with residences along the west side of the road. MD 213 intersects the southern terminus of MD 297 (Worton Road) and heads past more farm fields. The road turns northeast and has a junction with the southern terminus of MD 561 (Hassengers Corner Road). MD 213 passes through farmland, with intermittent woods and rural residences, before crossing over the Bohemia River. By 1915, the entire length of road between Ocean City and Elkton was completed as a state highway. The state highway between Singerly and south of Fair Hill was finished by 1923. The state highway was finished to Fair Hill by 1927.
With the creation of the U.S. Highway System on November 11, 1926, US 213 was designated to run from the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City west and north to US 40 in Elkton. The route headed west from Ocean City through Berlin and Salisbury (where it intersected its parent route US 13), before it ran northwest to Mardela Springs. Here, US 213 turned to the north and ran to Eldorado, where it continued northwest through Hurlock and Preston to Easton. From Easton, the route continued north to Wye Mills and followed the present alignment of MD 213 to Elkton. By 1933, US 213 was rerouted to cross the Nanticoke River at Vienna instead of at Sharptown. The route headed west from Mardela Springs to Vienna, where it turned north to Rhodesdale. The former alignment of US 213 became a southern extension of MD 313 between Mardela Springs and Eldorado and an eastern extension of MD 14 between Rhodesdale and Eldorado.
In 1939, US 213 was realigned to cross the Choptank River at Cambridge on the Emerson C. Harrington Bridge that opened in 1935. In 1939, the road between US 40 and the northern terminus of US 213 in Elkton and the Pennsylvania border north of Fair Hill was designated MD 280. The approaches to the original bridge are now designated as MD 537 and a western extension of MD 285. US 213 was moved to this new alignment in 1948, with the former alignment on Washington Street in Easton becoming an extended MD 333 in the southern part of the city and an extended MD 33 in the northern part the city, while MD 662 was designated on the original alignment between Easton and Wye Mills.
In 1949, US 50 was extended from Annapolis across the Chesapeake Bay, first via a ferry run by the Maryland State Roads Commission, then over the original span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge when it was completed in the middle of 1952, all the way to Ocean City. The southern terminus of US 213 was cut back to US 50 in Wye Mills, with the former route of US 213 between Wye Mills and Ocean City becoming part of the newly extended US 50. The former routing of US 213 between Wye Mills and Ocean City is now US 50 between Wye Mills and Vienna, Old Route 50 through Vienna, US 50 between Vienna and Salisbury, US 50 Bus. through Salisbury, MD 346 between Salisbury and east of Berlin, and US 50 between east of Berlin and Ocean City. In 1951, US 213 was realigned at Cayots to eliminate a sharp turn at the MD 310 intersection. The bypassed alignment became a western extension of MD 310 and MD 310A (now a county road named Cayots Corner Road Spur). On December 3, 1971, the American Association of State Highway Officials approved the elimination of the US 213 designation. US 213 along with MD 280 were replaced by MD 213, which ran from MD 662 in Wye Mills north to PA 841 at the Pennsylvania border north of Fair Hill. In 1994, the at-grade intersection with US 301 was replaced with an interchange.